September 28th: St. Wenceslas Day – Statehood Day /No Classes/

On September 28th, the national Czech Statehood Day holiday, also known as the ‘Feast of St. Wenceslas’ is celebrated in the Czech Republic. The holiday has been held as a national holiday since 2000. The day is both a celebration of the foundation of the Czech Republic as well as the commemoration of one of the most prominent historical figures, the patron saint of Bohemia, Wenceslas.

>> PLEASE NOTE: Being a combination of state celebrations and religious observances, the holiday is thus important enough to merit the closure of retail stores larger than 200 square meters. This also applies to you: there are NO CLASSES or OFFICE HOURS on this day.

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On the eve before Sep 28, the archbishop of Prague brings the Cranium of St. Wenceslas to the Saint Wenceslas Basilica as part of a pilgrimage and on Sep 28, the skull is paraded through the town of Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav where the saint was murdered by his own brother Boleslav’s henchmen.
On Sep 28, at Prague Castle, the President bestows the St. Wenceslas medal on those who contributed significantly to the country’s statehood.
You can see his most famous statue in Prague at the top of Wenceslas Square, in front of the National Museum.